The list ranks colleges by median starting salary, average SAT score, and a survey that asked more than 1,000 Business Insider readers to choose the colleges that best prepare their students for success after graduation. Read our full methodology here.
We reranked the schools by pay here to find the top US schools whose graduates earn the highest starting salaries.
Interestingly, two of the top three schools on this list are elite military institutions. And being that technical degrees often earn college grads higher starting salaries than degrees in the humanities or social sciences, schools heavy on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programming tended to rank more favorably here.
Keep reading to see which colleges came out on top.
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50. Clemson University
Median starting salary: $51,400
The 2016 Princeton Review ranked Clemson’s career services program No. 1 in the country. The career center also runs a Cooperative Education Program, in which students can alternate semesters of academic work with "paid, career-related, engaged-learning experience," according to the Clemson website. The 2015 Princeton Review also ranks the school No. 1 for the best alumni network.
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49. Penn State
Median starting salary: $51,500
Pennsylvania's only land-grant university, Penn State has an extensive alumni network of more than 645,000 Nittany Lions around the world. The school's alumni association connects everyone through an advanced online network that enables alumni to make professional connections, hire fellow Penn Staters, and more.
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47 (TIE). University of Connecticut
Median starting salary: $51,700
UConn has a built-out career services office, with resources both on campus and online. The online portal features a number of internship, co-op, and full-time job opportunities with companies like Pepperidge Farm, JetBlue, Unilever, and UBS, as well as a number of resources to help students apply and place there.
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47 (TIE). University of Southern California
Median starting salary: $51,700
Great for the entertainment industry, USC — No. 36 on our main list — has seen at least one alumnus nominated for an Academy Award every year since the inception of the awards in 1929. The school's cinematic arts program is also one of the best in the country, landing students in the heart of film or television production when they graduate.
Want to study two entirely different fields? That's no problem at USC, which allows "Renaissance Scholars" to pursue majors and minors from widely separated fields of study.
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46. Brigham Young University
Median starting salary: $51,800
BYU has multiple career fairs a year, and separate ones for general careers and STEM-related careers. The majority of students study business or biology, and include alumni like US Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), JetBlue Chairman Joel Peterson, and former US presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
A Jesuit school, Boston College is committed to its liberal-arts core and to "the continual process of intellectual inquiry and student formation."
"Jesuit institutions provide the most well-rounded education and prepare you for the real world," one survey participant commented.
The most popular undergraduate majors include economics, finance, and communication, but all students complete a certain number of liberal-arts courses. Boston College was tied with USC at No. 36 on our main list.
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43 (TIE). Tufts University
Median starting salary: $51,900
Just outside Boston, Tufts blends liberal arts and research, giving students access to the best of both worlds. The No. 30 school on our main list offers research opportunities to students while in school and after they finish their degrees.
Students can also spend a semester, a year, or a summer abroad, including at Tufts' own European Center in Talloires, France.
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43 (TIE). Middlebury College
Median starting salary: $51,900
Middlebury — No. 38 on our main list — may be in the middle of rural Vermont, but it's not shut off from the world.
In fact, the school is a leader in language instruction and international studies, and offers 10 different foreign-language tracks. An emphasis on writing in all classes broadens students' ability for critical thinking and expression for experiences that extend far after graduation.
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42. University of Texas at Austin
Median starting salary: $52,200
Ranked No. 17 for top public universities in the country by US News and Money magazine, UT has nearly half a million alumni all toting Longhorn pride, including award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, filmmaker Wes Anderson, journalist Walter Cronkite, and many members of the Bush family.
Students at the No. 41 school on our list benefit from a massive online and offline recruitment portal composed of companies, alumni, and current students seeking to network and make business connections.
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41. University of Washington
Median starting salary: $52,400
University of Washington students go far from one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country. Six Nobel Prize winners, 15 MacArthur Fellows, more than 240 members of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, and 167 fellows in the American Association for the Advancement of Science make up a sample of alumni at the school.
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39 (TIE). Villanova University
Median starting salary: $53,300
Founded in 1842 just outside Philadelphia by the Order of Saint Augustine, Villanova — No. 50 on our main list — grants a liberal-arts-based education in a large university setting. Among graduates of the class of 2014, 97% were employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation, and 60% held at least one internship.
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39 (TIE). Wake Forest University
Median starting salary: $53,300
Tied with UT at No. 41 on our main list, Wake Forest gives students first-hand experience in networking in the fields of banking, politics, and real estate during a summer program hosted by the school in Washington, D.C. Current students meet and get advice from dozens of Wake Forest alumni who guide them on the path to living and working in the nation's capital.
"Wake Forest University provides true depth of learning that allows their graduates to succeed across industries," one survey respondent said.
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38. Colgate University
Median starting salary: $54,000
Colgate, No. 44 on the main list, has an impressive track record of sending grads to top graduate schools — Columbia, New York University, Harvard, Cornell, and UPenn rank in the top five — as well as top employment positions.
"For work in finance, and especially on Wall Street, Colgate has a solid reputation for sending very successful and well-prepared graduates," one Colgate alum who took our survey noted. "My classmate recently retired as the CEO of the NYSE. We have an extensive network of graduates in the industry."
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36 (TIE). Northeastern University
Median starting salary: $54,100
Northeastern was ranked No. 34 on our main list and No. 42 in this year's ranking by US News — up 56 spots from the publication's 2007 list. Experiential learning opportunities ensure that students are exposed to real-world work, research, and study opportunities that will further them in their chosen fields far beyond life at Northeastern.
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36 (TIE). University of Virginia
Median starting salary: $54,100
US News named UVA — No. 28 on our main list — the No. 2 public school and the No. 6 undergraduate business program in the country.
Research is also an important part of the school's curriculum, and it has 1.5 million square feet of research, labs, and studio space, as well as $26 million in research awards from corporate partners to give students a leg up on the kind of work they may find themselves doing in the real world.
33 (TIE). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Median starting salary: $55,000
Last year, 72 of the 100 Fortune 100 companies recruited on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's campus. More than 5,000 companies came to recruit in total, and conducted more than 14,000 interviews.
UIUC, No. 45 on the main list, is known for its engineering program, which is ranked No. 6 in the country.
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33 (TIE). Washington University in St. Louis
Median starting salary: $55,000
Ranked the seventh-most selective university by US News, WashU — ranked No. 27 on the main list — says more than 90% of its students rank in the top 10% of their graduating high-school classes.
WashU makes it a priority to help students succeed not only as employees, but as employers, giving them a substantial background in entrepreneurial studies and executive education.
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32. Brown University
Median starting salary: $55,100
The seventh-oldest college in the US, Brown — No. 18 on our main list — is a leading research university with more than 40 specific centers of study, creating a plethora of opportunities for students to get involved with research projects.
Within six months of graduation, 86% of Notre Dame's class of 2013 were employed full-time or enrolled in graduate school. Graduates from the No. 24-ranked college on our main list, the South Bend, Indiana-based school end up at top companies including NBC Universal, Ernst & Young, and Deloitte.
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30. Purdue University
Median starting salary: $55,400
Indiana's land grant university has a stellar track record of students pursuing their dreams after graduation: 85% of students surveyed from the class of 2013 found themselves employed full-time or in graduate school. Purdue alumni employers range from large corporations like Amazon, PepsiCo, and Disney to government entities and universities.
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29. Dartmouth College
Median starting salary: $55,500
At Dartmouth, students learn from the best — the school is ranked No. 4 on US News' list of colleges with the best undergraduate teaching. Our main list's 10th-best school, Dartmouth, in Hanover, New Hampshire, also offers a flexible academic calendar that allows students to easily fit in time for internships, work experience, and studying abroad.
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28. Vanderbilt University
Median starting salary: $56,300
Vanderbilt was ranked the 16th best college in the country on our main list. The Nashville, Tennessee-based school abides by an honor code that it says makes its graduates citizens with integrity.
"Students from Vanderbilt ... have always impressed me with their high level of intelligence, but low level of entitlement," one survey taker wrote. "They are not ostentatious about how much they know, but they are very personable — at least in my experiences — and have always been interesting people to be around."
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26 (TIE). Bucknell University
Median starting salary: $56,800
A whopping 97% of Bucknell students report being employed, in graduate school, volunteering, or some combination thereof within nine months of graduation.
And if you think the median starting salary for Bucknell grads is high, it's important to note that the alumni median lifetime earnings are equally high. The Lewisburg, Pennsylvania-based school ranks No. 5 among liberal-arts colleges surveyed by PayScale, and ranks No. 48 on our main list of colleges.
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26 (TIE). University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Median starting salary: $56,800
Michigan students received more Fulbright grants than anywhere else in the country but Harvard last year. The university, No. 23 on the main list, counts Google cofounder Larry Page, actor James Earl Jones, and former President Gerald Ford among its many high-profile, and successful, alumni.
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25. Lafayette College
Median starting salary: $57,000
For the fifth year in a row, the Princeton Review ranked Lafayette College in the top 20 higher-education career services offices, based on student feedback. Seventy-eight percent of students have internship or fieldwork experience under their belts by graduation, and 95% of Lafayette grads are employed, continuing their education, or conducting internships or volunteer work six months after graduation.
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24. Hamilton College
Median starting salary: $57,600
The small, liberal-arts college in Clinton, New York, takes only top talent — 75% of the class of 2018 were in the top 10% of their graduating high-school classes, and 94% were in the top 20%. Hamilton grads have a great track record of earning prestigious awards: 92 were granted Fulbright Scholarships and 18 took Goldwater Scholarships in the last 15 years.
Not only do graduates earn great salaries, they also earn great bonuses — more than $10,000, with five to 19 years of experience.
Case Western is known for its top-rated engineering and science programs. Nearly 30% of students major in an engineering field, and another 13% major in biology. Students are exposed to an endless number of research opportunities at a school that's consistently ranked in the top 20 private research institutes in the country.
The Ithaca, New York-based school, No. 11 on the main list, offers 80 fields of study and an active career-services office, which connects students with alumni for mentoring, networking, jobs, and internships.
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20. Yale University
Median starting salary: $58,500
Yale's undergraduate curriculum aims to provide a comprehensive liberal-arts education, and it allows students to choose from more than 65 different areas of study, including everything from anthropology to chemistry to modern Middle East studies.
Not only that, but the New Haven, Connecticut-based school is a great deal for the money — it's ranked the third best-value undergraduate program in the country by US News, and No. 6 on our main colleges list.
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19. Johns Hopkins University
Median starting salary: $58,700
With nine schools and more than 240 programs, America's first research university — No. 12 on our main list — offers students unbeatable variety when it comes to choosing a field of study.
JHU's biomedical and environmental engineering programs are exceptionally notable, and students have the opportunity to work alongside Nobel laureates and other award and medal winners, who introduce them to real-life applications of their work.
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18. Columbia University
Median starting salary: $59,200
Columbia counts 82 Nobel Laureates among its esteemed alumni and faculty, including two US presidents. The New York City-based Ivy League school, which was eighth on our main colleges list, also features several prestigious graduate programs for students planning to continue their education. The highest-earning graduates from Columbia end up in Seattle, Washington, and earn a median salary of $95,000.
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17. University of Pennsylvania
Median starting salary: $59,300
The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School is routinely considered the best in the country at the undergraduate and graduate levels. US News ranked it the No. 1 undergraduate business program overall, as well as naming it the best school for marketing, finance, management, and real estate. Many undergrads go on from Wharton to work in finance, consulting, or tech or to start their own companies.
UPenn ranked ninth on the main list.
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15 (TIE). University of California at Berkeley
Median starting salary: $59,500
Berkeley is ranked the No. 1 public university in the country by US News, and No. 15 on our overall list of colleges. Berkeley helps its students develop a number of workplace-applicable skills, like clear and effective writing, critical thinking, quantitative skills, and international understanding — students report a marked improvement in these skills between freshman and senior years.
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15 (TIE). Duke University
Median starting salary: $59,500
Duke is the fifth-largest research university in the nation, and ranked No. 7 on our main list. Half of all undergraduates participate in a faculty research project, and receive ample opportunities to study abroad and gain an international perspective on the world.
Of all the schools in the "Triangle" — Duke, North Carolina State, and UNC Chapel Hill — Duke is the only school whose graduates will break the six-figure mark after at least 10 years in the workforce, with a median mid-career salary of $102,000.
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13 (TIE). Rice University
Median starting salary: $60,000
Houston's Rice University is a research university with a small-college feel. A median class size of 14 students and a six-to-one student-to-faculty ratio means a focus on individualized learning.
The median starting salary for all Rice graduates is $60,000, but the number varied based on industry, ranging from $35,000 for architecture grads to $72,500 for engineering grads.
The school had a 100% placement rate for summer internships in 2015, and more than 95% of the class graduated with an offer of full-time employment. Princeton ranked fourth on our overall list of colleges.
Based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Lehigh is ranked third in the Northeast for salary potential among its graduates — tied with MIT — and 96% of students are employed or continuing their education within six months of graduation.
Lehigh is also tied with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 45th place on our main list.
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11. Cooper Union
Median starting salary: $61,100
Cooper Union was ranked the No. 1 best-value school and second-best overall undergraduate school in the north by US News. With a 15% admission rate, it's one of the most selective schools in the country, known for its excellent architecture, fine arts, and engineering programs that lead to lucrative, technical careers.
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10. Babson College
Median starting salary: $61,300
Babson College — No. 42 on the main list — has a top-notch reputation for fostering entrepreneurship on its Massachusetts campus and in the real world.
It also has a partnership with the F.W. Olin College of Engineering and Wellesley College, which enables students to get involved in joint research and curricular projects, conferences and programs, and other services with the two other colleges.
Considered the smartest public college in America, Georgia Tech — No. 25 on our main list of colleges — is known for its top-rated engineering, industrial design, and architecture programs. Students from the class of 2014 alone reported earning a median salary of $64,000.
"Atlanta is the technological hub of the South, and Georgia Tech is a major reason for this, attracting among the best technology students from around the world," one survey respondent said.
Accordingly, 53% of students opt for an engineering-related major, while another 10% major in computer and information sciences.
The median starting salary for RPI grads is $62,300, but alumni with 10 to 20 years of experience earn a median $110,000 annually, according to Forbes.
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7 (TIE). Carnegie Mellon University
Median starting salary: $62,300
Within three months of graduation, 77% of Carnegie Mellon's 2014 graduates were employed or enrolled in graduate school. On top of that, 2014 grads from the Pittsburgh-based university — which ranked 14th on our main list — landed jobs at top-paying companies like Google, Deloitte, and ExxonMobil.
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6. Stanford University
Median starting salary: $62,900
An academic powerhouse, Stanford accepted only 5.1% of students and implemented several expansions to its undergraduate curriculum, including a CS+X joint major program, which integrates studies in computer science and the humanities.
Stanford has also become a pipeline to brand-name tech companies, which offer graduates starting salaries up to $500,000. Stanford took second place on our main list.
The school has a host of notable alumni as well, including Donald Layton, former CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and Megan Smith, chief technology officer of the US.
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4. California Institute of Technology
Median starting salary: $74,800
The Pasadena-based Caltech earned the No. 4 spot on US News' list of the best undergraduate engineering programs, No. 8 on its list of the best value schools, and No. 5 on our main list.
Getting into the Military Academy at West Point, in the eponymous New York town, is no small feat: The Academy, No. 29 on the main list, accepts only about 9% of applicants.
For accepted students, each major — ranging from American politics to nuclear engineering — is specifically tailored to train "officer-leaders of character to serve the Army and the Nation."
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2. Harvey Mudd College
Median starting salary: $75,600
Harvey Mudd graduates earn the second-highest median starting salary on our list, primarily due to the fact that a large number of students go into STEM fields when they graduate. The school also took a respectable 17th spot on our main list.
Harvey Mudd is best known for its engineering and computer-science programs. The Claremont, California-based school is also a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium and a liberal-arts college.
The school makes sure its students learn in all areas with a solid core curriculum that incorporates humanities and social sciences with math and science.
Melissa Stanger was the Lists and Features Associate Editor. Previously the Associate Editor of Levo League, her work has been syndicated to the Huffington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Yahoo Finance.She is also a craft beer enthusiast and homebrewer, and a mentor with the Digital Mentoring Program at Girls Write Now — an organization that fosters a community of mentorship between professional writers and high school-aged girls in New York.
Emmie was an associate editor at Business Insider, covering personal finance. She previously wrote for the lists and features, strategy, and careers verticals. Emmie graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in magazine journalism and lives in New York City.
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